New mask rules start in Durham, as North Carolina’s doubling rate of coronavirus cases slows down a bit
Public Hardware in downtown Durham hasn’t stayed in business 96 years by ignoring consumer trends.
So on Monday, when Durham County’s cover-your-face requirement went into effect, the store had a fresh stack of handmade cloth masks for sale right inside the front door of the Mangum Street business. Customers who don’t want to come inside can call ahead and get curb service face coverage.
“If I bring it out to your car, you don’t get to pick out your color,” Lauren Rathbone said Monday afternoon.
The store gets the masks from a maker in the southern part of the state, Rathbone said. A store employee meets the supplier halfway every other day to collect a new batch of 100. They go for $12.99 each. The store’s Facebook page shows the fabric masks in a variety of solids and cheerful prints.
Durham County ordered residents to wear masks while out in public to help slow the spread of the COVID-19. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has said that while face masks may not prevent the wearer from getting the illness caused by the new coronavirus, it can help prevent an infected person from spreading the disease.
North Carolina reported seven new deaths related to the coronavirus and saw its overall case-doubling rate gradually but steadily decelerating, according to figures released by state officials on Monday morning.
The state’s Department of Health and Human Services reported 6,764 cases spread over 93 counties on Monday. That’s an increase of 271 cases since Sunday. The state recorded 904 cases over the past three days.
The importance of face masks
Face masks are important, epidemiologists say, as some people may spread the illness unknowingly because they have been infected but show no symptoms.
On Monday afternoon, Rathbone, a member of the Wall family that has owned Public Hardware since it was founded in 1924, said about 80% of the customers coming into the store were wearing masks. Many of the other 20% were there to buy one.
That includes many of the regulars who have come into the store for decades.
“Well, we can’t really tell for sure,” Rathbone said. “I mean, we think that’s who they are, but it’s hard to tell with the masks on.
“Usually, we’d be, like, ‘Hey, Steve! What’s going on?’ And now we’re like, ‘Uh, Hey ...’ and we’re just real friendly.”
Rathbone was wearing a mask on Monday.
“To be honest, I don’t do it for myself,” she said. “But I know plenty of older people and I do it for them. Mainly I don’t want somebody else to be affected because I did something stupid.”
The doubling rate
The total number of known coronavirus cases in North Carolina is doubling every 12 days. The doubling rate is a key factor that state government officials are monitoring as they decide when to relax business and social restrictions that are credited with slowing the virus’s spread.
In the three weeks after the first North Carolina case was confirmed on March 3, the known case totals doubled every two to three days.
The state’s official death count grew to 179 on Monday. Hospitalizations fell to 373, from the 465 reported on Sunday.
The state has completed 79,484 COVID-19 tests.
The News & Observer is keeping a separate tally based on reports from the state and county health departments, which is higher than the DHHS count because that one is only updated once daily. As of Monday evening, the N&O total was 6,867 cases and 205 deaths.
DHHS officials canvass the state’s hospitals daily to record how prepared they are to handle a surge in cases. With 77% of them reporting information on Monday morning, 42.9% of hospital beds are available, while only 27.5% of the intensive care beds are available.
Nurses hurrying to help
Nursing school graduates from schools across the state are hurrying to join the ranks of those treating the sick. On Monday, dozens of soon-to-be-grads lined up in their cars in a pouring rain for a curbside pinning ceremony in Raleigh, the News & Observer reported.
The students will graduate at the end of this semester from Wake Technical Community College’s Martha Mann Smith School of Nursing, and can enter the workforce as early as May 8, even before they take their licensure exams. The NC Board of Nursing temporarily waived the National Council Licensure Examination testing requirements to allow new nurses to practice during the pandemic. Graduates from colleges and universities across the state can work as a “Graduate Registered Nurse” in health care facilities under the supervision of a registered nurse. The waived rulse will remain in effect until Aug. 31.
Jessica Hernandez, 26, will be working as an ICU nurse at Central Harnett Hospital in Lillington and training to work in the emergency department once she finishes her online classes and finals in May. Harnett County has reported 61 coronavirus cases and 4 deaths from COVID-19, according to The News & Observer.
“This is something I feel like I need to do and that I should do for my community,” Hernandez said. “It’s exciting, but it’s also ... I’m not going to lie, it’s terrifying.”
Coronavirus now a leading cause of death
Infection from the coronavirus has become one of the leading daily causes of death in the United States, according to research by the Washington Post. On some days since the pandemic hit, it has been blamed for more deaths than heart disease or cancer.
In North Carolina, COVID-19 deaths have surpassed those caused by the flu since the 2019-20 flu season started in September. So far, there have been 167 flu deaths this season, according to N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen.
In a news conference on Monday afternoon, Cohen said the spread of the disease and number of deaths in North Carolina would be worse if not for state and county safety measures such as stay-at-home orders.
Cohen also announced the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer program, known as P-EBT, a federal program that will give North Carolina families who receive free or reduced-price lunch at school an additional $250 per child applied to EBT cards. This will give those families a way to feed children who normally eat breakfast and/or lunch at school, Cohen said.
Cooper talks to the White House
Vice President Mike Pence held a conference call with the nation’s governors Monday to talk about coronavirus testing. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s office said that during the call, Cooper “highlighted efforts to diversify the supply chain for testing so that labs aren’t all relying on the same supplies from the same vendors.”
In a statement issued afterward by his office, Cooper said, “I appreciate the open lines of communication that North Carolina has with the White House.
“Right now, North Carolina has 14 labs able to test for COVID-19, but to continue increasing our testing numbers we need help from the federal government getting more testing supplies and personal protective equipment. More testing is necessary to be able to start lifting restrictions in a safe way.”
While President Donald Trump said governors aren’t using their testing capacity, that’s not what governors from both parties are saying.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, called the lack of testing “probably the No. 1 problem in America, and has been from the beginning of this crisis,” the Associated Press reported.
Maryland’s statewide stay-at-home order began on March 30, the same day as North Carolina and Virginia orders.
Cooper’s order is currently set to expire on April 29. Virginia’s order lasts until June 10.
Another ReOpen NC protest planned
A ReOpen NC protest is planned on Tuesday outside the Executive Mansion by those who want the statewide stay-at-home order to end soon. At least two Republican lawmakers have said they will attend. The group opposes Cooper’s executive orders that have closed most businesses and brought the state’s economy to a halt during the pandemic.
Cooper assured the group that its members are allowed to protest if they adhere to social distancing guidelines, The News & Observer reported.
In a letter to ReOpen NC’s attorneys on Monday, the governor’s general legal counsel provided the guidance the group sought ahead of its planned Tuesday protest.
“So that there is no confusion regarding this issue,” William McKinney wrote in the letter, “outdoor protests are allowed so long as the protesters maintain the social distancing requirement that individuals stay six feet apart unless they are members of the same household.”
The governor’s office also sent a copy of the letter to The News & Observer.
“The Governor is taking strong steps to slow the spread of COVID-19 with public health and safety as the top priority,” Cooper’s press secretary, Dory MacMillan, said in an emailed statement to the N&O. “The Governor’s order does not interfere with first amendment rights and this letter explains that.”
News & Observer staff writers Danielle Battaglia, Anna Johnson, Kate Murphy and Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 20, 2020 at 11:14 AM with the headline "New mask rules start in Durham, as North Carolina’s doubling rate of coronavirus cases slows down a bit."
